Endings
by A.Lindsay-Marquais
Summary: Faith gets a visitor while incarcerated.


The duty guard came up and stood over her, watching her play her hand of cards.   
" You've got a visitor"   
Faith looked up surprised,nearly dropping her hand.   
" Who?"   
The guard shrugged and then inclined her head, intimating that she should follow her.   
" I fold." Faith answered and let the cards fall to the table. Getting to her feet, she   
gamely followed the blue figure in front of her to the visitation area.   
  
The glare of the light off the glass distracted her as she was led to the booth. And for   
a moment she couldn't make out the face behind the glass. But it was only for a moment, because once the face had once been hers, if only for 24 hours.   
  
Buffy.   
  
Her palms were suddenly damp and her mouth dry. Her stomach roiling. And then she saw Angel, standing back behind Buffy. His eyes met hers and he nodded. Despite her instinct   
to flee, Faith sat down in the chair and picked up the reciever.   
  
"Hey B." she said. "What's the occasion??"   
  
"Hello Faith" Buffy answered. Her tone was unreadable,but her eyes spoke volumes. Faith   
was suddenly cold. " We need to talk, and most importantly I need you to listen."   
  
Faith nodded in response, fearing the worst.   
  
" Angel brought me here, although I had to practically beat him up to do it, because I   
have unfinished business with you. I need to have you hear some of the things I have to   
say, even if they really don't mean anything to you. Or even if it is too late."   
  
"Buffy, I..." Faith began.   
  
"Don't you dare apologize to me Faith. Don't you DARE." Buffy snapped. Her eyes had gone cold as her mouth hissed the words.   
"We are SO VERY past the point where you could even begin to be sorry. I let you into my   
life. My WHOLE life,Faith."   
  
"Buffy..." Angel said stepping forward.   
  
" No!" Buffy said, swivelling around in the chair to face him, hand up to block him. "YOU stay out of this. This is between ME and FAITH." Angel put his hands up in surrender and   
backed off. When Buffy turned back, Faith saw Angel mouth the word "sorry" to her behind   
the other slayers back.   
  
Panicked, Faith swallowed hard and steeled herself for the worst.   
  
" I trusted you Faith. More than anyone, ever. Because you are the only person who could   
understand what it was like to be ME." Buffy's eyes filled with tears as she put her hand on the glass dividing them. Faith's fingers itched to reach for the pane herself but she was afraid of the reaction.   
" I needed you as my partner,to watch my back and fight the good fight- but more than anything else, I needed you as my friend. Xander and Willow can never understand what it is to be a Slayer. You KNOW. You showed me a part of myself that I had never seen before, or ever thought I COULD see. I thought that that meant something to you,I thought that we were more than friends, Faith, more like sisters, if only in spirit. Yet you took the first opportunity to sacrifice everything, to sacrifice ME when things got tight. I don't think I've hurt that bad in a long time."   
  
Faith gripped the reciever, white knuckled and felt tears of her own coursing down her face. Somehow she'd always know that it would come down to this. She and Buffy, face to face   
and she'd deserve everything that Buffy had to dish out to her.   
  
" But as hurt as I was, as hurt as I AM - "I" cannot hurt "YOU". I'd only be striking back   
at myself for letting you wound me. I have loved you as a friend, Faith- and hated you as   
an enemy. I will never forget what happened and I don't know that I will ever truly forgive you. I don't know that I can believe, as Angel does, that there is something in you that is going to change. That there is some GOOD inside you. But I have to allow you the chance to try. I NEED to forgive you. If only for myself. Despite everything, I care about you. Deep down I WANT you to change, and I am praying that you will. But I need you and I to be away from one another, maybe forever. That's the greatest service I can do you as my FRIEND, to keep my distance and let you do what you have to." Her eyes were streaming, mascara running as she put the reciever down and moved from the chair, out the door, never seeing Faith's hand pressed firmly to the glass, reaching out, behind her.   
  
From the shadows, Angel came up and put his own hand to the glass, mirroring Faith's, a moment before putting the reciever on the hook and following Buffy out the door. Leaving Faith, reciever in hand, a little more complete than before.   
  



End file.
